Private Specimen: Shark eggs

Got my hands on some White-spotted Bamboo Shark eggs! Our gals lay them every month or so and the Department have so many, they allowed me to have a few! I have four with yolk, waiting for some Formalin in a jar. Three had no yolk, and one with yolk was broken. I slit the four left-over open, drained the yolk, and they have been rinsed. I await them to dry!

I was surprised to find the yolk to be a milky blue in hue.

(By the way, these eggs were non-viable. We have NO male WSB)

What are some fun Specimen you have been able to bring home, or even use as personal teaching tools?

 

To name a few - polar bear, bats, hippo, golden eagle, nile croc, burmese python, spider tortoise.

 

Karlsruhe Natural History Museum have a female that laid eggs via parthenogenesis,which did successfully hatch out!!!

 

That list includes some highly threatened species (perhaps most notable polar bear and spider tortoise) that are protected, illegal to import/export and normally would be illegal to hand out to privates. This also include parts from dead specimens of captive origin. Are you associated with a zoo/museum or are the Russian laws different?

 

I have various specimens that are of protected species (e.g elephant, hippo, tiger) that I use in educational lectures and I have a license from the Uk borders agency for this.
That is of course only for the UK but I imagine there could be a similar situation in Russia?

 

My specimens are captive-born or found dead in the wild (as bats or eagle).
And yes, I work with them for a zoo & museum.
Ownership/trafficking of endangered species is regulated in Russia mainly at customs.
That's why travelling menageries exist, where, along with captive-bred carnivores, are kept obviously captured specimens such as birds of prey & saiga and nobody gives a s h i t.

 

Maybe this thread should be renamed, or separate one 'Private specimen collections' should be created?

 

I thought this would go nicely in this section. When I think "Private collection" I think specimen collection. Collecting animals sounds dark and very odd to me, lol.

Many Countries have different laws about the handling and collection of animal parts and bi-products. In the US, it is very illegal to touch any sea turtle species without a rehabilitation licence. However, in the Caribbean many tours are offered in which one can interact with the creatures.

It was not my intention to start a riot among the members over concern for wildlife and law.

 

For me it's not dark or odd if one treats animals in a RIGHT way after death (preserves them).

 

For me once the animal is dead I don't have a problem with keeping it for education or just privately but what I am against is the killing of animals to have for education or keeping privately.

 

There's no problem with captive-bred animals (excess stock like infamous Marius or just old/ill ones that should be PTS), game animals and invertebrates.

 

You misunderstand me. I do not find it dark or odd to have specimen of deceased animals or parts of deceased animals. I have many different educational and personal specimen at home. I see labeling one's living pets as a collection as odd. This concept is dark to me.

This section of the forum is labeled Private collection. I assumed it meant private collection of specimen (deceased) or other wise (nests, eggs, traces)

 

Yes, private collections and pets so presumably it is any animals exotic or otherwise kept privately or any other animal related collections whether dead animals or otherwise. I belive a number of people on here collect zoo memorabilia.

 

The "and Pets", to me indicates a separation of the two. I would love to post about all my fuzzy "children" but, not under something I title "Private specimen"

 

My newest 'pet':


And his skull:

 

Easily. They're sold on Ebay since being non-CITES species.
(I believe that's 2nd complete skeleton in Russia)

 

I think the definition of private collection to many people would mean different things. Many people would call their private collection their pets. It's not as if people are actualy "collecting" animals but it encompasses all animals kept privately in collections not open to the public.
That could be a small group of specialist animals or literally a zoo not open to the public.

For example I keep various exotics mainly specialising in tenrecs but these I class as my pets yet they are also a private collection I.e not open to the public.

 

Do you preserve your animals? Discarding tenrecs is a shame

 

Thankfully bar one tenrec they are all still alive The dead one is wrapped up in many layers in my freezer, I am crossed between giving it to the natural history museum where I do some freelance work or sending it to some friends I have at the royal veterinary college for their plastination work.